The Trump administration went to the Supreme Court after a panel of judges at a D.C.-based federal appeals court ruled 2-1 to uphold the lower court’s ruling shielding Dellinger, whom former President Joe Biden appointed to a five-year term at the Office of Special Counsel, which handles issues like protecting whistleblowers against retaliation.

An appeals court declined the Justice Department’s request to reinstate President Donald Trump’s executive order limiting birthright citizenship, setting up a potential emergency application to the Supreme Court.

An appeals court will not allow the Trump administration to end birthright citizenship for certain children of immigrants, in a ruling that could propel the issue to the Supreme Court.